Evaluation:
Projects: 60%
Sketchbook: 10%
Class participation: 30%
Students will complete 5 projects over the course of the semester, each project will include a proposal (one paragraph written, 3 sketches, and a maquette) which will be included as part of the final grade. They will also be expected hand in 2 responses to 2 artists’ books, which they have seen, these can be written or visual responses. The class will hold three exhibitions in the Southwestern College Library throughout the semester. Each student is expected to participate in at least two of those exhibitions.
Evaluation will be based upon:
Timely completion of all assignments submitted in an acceptable format.
Craft
Originality
Conceptual development
Technical development
Independent research and problem-solving
Effort
Presentation
We will have several in-class fieldtrips to the UCSD Special Collections, the La Jolla Athenaeum, and Bay Park Press.
Projects: Students will be graded on their thoughtful consideration of the readings, lectures and technique demonstrations. They will be expected to integrate concepts from lectures and techniques from the demonstrations into the books that they make. One third of each project grade will be the project proposal.
Class participation: Includes coming to class prepared and on time, attending fieldtrips, making meaningful commentary during in-class discussions, reviewing the class website weekly, and participating in class exhibitions.
Sketchbook: Each student will be required to keep a scketchbook for the class, in which they will document their ideas and processes.
Cource Description and Scope:
Rethinking the Book: A Sculptural Investigation in the Book Arts
“What is unique about artists’ books is that with very few exceptions they really did not exist in their current form before the 20th century. However, a single definition of the term “artist’s book” continues to be highly elusive in spite of its general currency and the proliferation of work which goes by this name. The increased popularity of artists’ books can probably be attributed to the flexibility and variation of the book form, rather than to any single aesthetic or material factor . . . This zone is made at the intersection of a number of different disciplines, fields, and ideas—rather than at their limits. “
--Johanna Drucker, The Century of Artists’ Books
Artists’ Books: Background information
Artists’ books can be any size or shape. They may take on the traditional shape of books as we know them today or they may be more objects of art, such as sculptures or collage images. Artists, in more recent times, have used these books to convey meaning. Images, words, symbols, and colour may or may not be used to deliver the artist’s message.
Artists may play with changing the traditional book pages and covers. They may invent new surfaces for displaying images, words or symbols and use folding and binding in new ways such as Pop up books. The traditional book materials of cardboard and paper may be exchanged for wood, Perspex or natural objects. Artists’ books are unique artworks that carry new meanings for the reader.
Books as we know them date back to ancient times. Messages found on clay tablets, scrolls and Coptic manuscripts show a progression of book technology through time. Some ancient Christian manuscripts are found to have the improvements of page stitching and leather binding to help provide more robustness to the book. These traditions are still being used today in book manufacturing. Artists’ books can go beyond this strict structure to blend the message with art to convey meaning to the reader or viewer.
Objectives:
This course will introduce students to the design, aesthetics and concepts of bookmaking with an emphasis on the book as a sculptural form. It focuses1 on contemporary artists' book production over the past 30 years. Students will be able to create original artists books in a variety of media and formats
with competence and skill. Students will demonstrate through models and the creation of
series of artists books an understanding of book structures and related media and
knowledge of contemporary practice in artists books The students will look at the unique interplay between word, image, and page/container that the genre facilitates. The focus will be on creating books as art by exploring concepts and content that combine images with text in unexpected and unconventional ways. Students will be encouraged to experiment with ideas that break away from the traditional form and idea of the book. Assignments will center on general themes, allowing students to develop their own specific ideas for projects. Throughout the course, students will study various bindings and presentation formats, establishing the concepts and tools they will need to create their own books in the semester. The class will consider the book as a sculptural space, and use formal strategies in order to explore content. These books can test the boundaries of what a ‘book’ is actually supposed to look like. The shape and form of an artist book is almost limitless. The book may be contained within a cover or it may be enclosed in a box. It may be artistically arranged for viewing from different angles or the viewer may need to discover its secrets through quiet contemplation page by page. Individual and collaborative book projects will be presented, and students will have the opportunity to utilize original artists' books from the UCSD Special Collections and Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla (still need to confirm this) for research purposes.
Overall Goals:
·To look at the role of Book Arts within contemporary art history.
·To use the format of a book to explore sculptural strategies, narration, and formal issues.
·To practice basic bookbinding formats.
·To develop critical 3-dimensional thinking skills.
·To further explore the relationship between form and content.
·To introduce students to the history of the book, the book arts, and artist's books
·To provide students with solid foundation in craft techniques as they relate to the book arts including working with materials and developing appropriate structures. This will be through:
Working in multiples
Studying and researching structures
·To curate and assemble an exhibit of works to be shown in the college Library during the second half of the Semester
·Students explore and discuss ‘books as art’ and artists’ books with the aim of creating an artist’s book of their own.
·discuss historical evidence about books explore the purpose and meanings of artists’ books
·explore and discuss techniques and processes found in Artists’ Books
·compare and contrast characteristics of traditional books and artists’ books
Assignments
Questions to ask (and to be ready to answer) for each project you make for the class:
·How does the binding I choose relate to the subject? Historically, regionally, traditionally…
·How does the ease (or difficulty) of viewing reveal or hide my subject matter? Is the viewer gaining full access to my content and if not, why?
·How does the size of my book effect the viewer's reaction to the content? Does it need to be gigantic or miniscule to really tell the story well?
·How do the materials I have chosen relate to the content? Is the cover material appropriate for the subject matter I am addressing? Is the text paper? The endpapers (if any)?
·How fragile is my book? Will it standup to many people handling it? Where will it be read? On a table, in a lap, on a pedestal, etc?
·How does the over structure and feel of the book function with the overall content? Does the form enhance the content?
Combining images and text
(Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics)
For this introductory project, choose one visual source and one text source that you will combine in a simple book format. Think about your selection process very carefully, i.e., what is your idea and which sources make the most sense in order to explore that concept? You will be asked to manipulate the images and texts, their order, to think about the movement from page to page, changing typography, what or what not to reveal to the reader, if you will alter them in any way, and titling.
·Consider the “Voice” of a text. Chose a work, literature or poetry, find a type face that will reflect that language.
·Consider the layout and structure to reflect the rhythm of the language and images.
·Design the format of this work to reflect the content.
·The book can function as a vehicle for documentation, as an archive of a collection, or a journal. It can be a poem or a narrative. Formats that you may refer to include photo narrative with text, polysemiotic narratives, documentary narratives, non-narrative visual sequences, scores, albums and inventories, illustrated books, and mail art. We will focus on text as a communicative tool.
Re-Text
Find a book that fascinates you, with or without images, paperback or hardback, old or new. Rewrite it, using our discussion of Tom Phillips and Roland Barthes to guide you. Please challenge the verb “to write” considerably—your interventions should take multiple forms. The quality of your craft and the structure of your interventions are quite important.
Explore the book as space, a sculptural environment that can be opened and folded, collapsed or expanded. Consider the contemporary art forms that have been inspired from the cells of the book.
·Consider text as object, paper as a wall for projection, and the cover as an enclosure.
·Given the time of year, this work must be small.
Pop up Book
Develop the story, characters, imagery and architectural environment for a pop-up book. Make a lot of models and sketches. Produce the book and hand-bind it. Your pop-up book should be exquisitely crafted and should look like something you would find on a shelf in a bookstore.
History Memory:
Students will make a book in which you identify a particular moment in time or a historical event/incident. You will enrich our understanding of that moment or event through the use of three well-developed perspectives (additional perspectives optional), problematize it and complicate it, and reveal the layers and versions of "truth." Consider how different disciplines and perspectives can tell stories distinctly. Source options include newspapers, oral histories, personal letters, legal documents, etc. You can appropriate texts and images, but you should also be creating your own that will weave into the book. Again, think about manipulating images and texts, revising them, if necessary, to suit your needs. You should be aware of differences in language and tone, incorporating, for example, 1st person/3rd person, point of view, etc. You will further explore how book design can reflect your book concept.
Production of a scroll to protect you from one thing--inspired by Ethiopian protective scrolls, and a 2-4 page paper detailing your conception, execution, and critical estimation of your scroll. Oral presentation of scroll to class. (15%)
Production of a "Classroom Edition": 1 copy for each class member, 2 copies for the instructor. A book with text and/or image by you bound in an appropriate format. This means that your books will be identical. Everything about them will be exactly the same. When you are trying to make decisions about papers, materials, content, size, format, sewing style, etc, you should work all of these questions out in a mock-up book. This is not to be part of your edition, but rather a working proof.
Basic Binding Demonstrations:
Stamping
Accordian
Book box
Basic cover
Sewing:
(loose leaf, sewn, saddle stitch, rivet, screw and post, and spiral)
Accordion,: 10%
Popup: 10 %
Book box
Pamphlets: book as bookmark
Complete an edition
Sewn structures
Taped Binding
Required Materials and Texts
Required Materials:
Pencil: Hard (HB-2B) or mechanical pencil
Bone Folder: I prefer a 6-7” folder that has one pointed and one rounded end. don’t buy the Teflon ones--they bend.
Awl: It really helps to have an awl or a heavy needle in a handle to punch holes in your signatures.
Erasers: Magic Rub (white)
Brushes: Small, cheap glue brush
Ruler: Clear ruler with horizontal and vertical measurements, one side beveled the other side edged in metal
Xacto Knife- #11 with extra blades. You will need extra blades. Olfa snap-off blades / #10 X-Acto knife + blades
A circle cutter:Yellow plastic
Glue brush: 3/4" stiff bristle flat brush, these can usually be bought in packs if you want to buy them with a classmate
PVA: bookbinding glue
Newsprint pad: 12x18-18x24 (can share 2 students to a pad)
Self-healing cutting mat
Paper:
Acid free paper. You can use copier paper, drawing paper, even heavyweight watercolor papers for certain book structures. Start gathering what you have at home. Papers that fold without cracking are best.
Decorative papers for covers. Don’t spend a lot of money on fancy papers until you get the book structures under your belt. Colored paper, charcoal paper, scrap booking papers, & hand-made papers work well.
Fabric. If you have something at home, that’s fine.
Optional Materials:
Hole punches
12” to 18” ruled straight edge (ones with cork on the back are nice) for use at home
Eyelet tools, rivet tools, metal letter stamps
Small craft hammer
Copper wire
Needle nose pliers
Linen Thread
Sewing Needles
Book Cloth
Clear spray acrylic
Book board (davey board)
Muslin
1/2” Linen tape
Beeswax
Large binder clip(s) or
Weight (brick or book)
Scissors (optional)
Any other kind of tape or texture
12” Plastic Triangle
Texts:
Will be a small reader, which will be accompanied by a few handouts throughout the semester. Below are a series of text, which I am considering
“Images as the Text: Pictographs and Pictographic Logic” by Johanna Drucker and Jerome McGann
"The New Art of Making Books" Manifesto by Ulises Carrion
Niffenegger, Audrey. “What does it mean to make a book?” The Book as Art, pg 12-13. Krystyna Wasserman. Princeton Architectural Press (New York): 2007.
(A conversational text about the possibilities of bookmaking: gain power over an object, create a physical form for ideas, contend with beauty, etc…)
Drucker, Johanna. “Intimate Authority,” The Book as Art, Pg 14-17. Krystyna Wasserman. Princeton Architectural Press (New York): 2007.
(An essay about the history of women in the book arts)
"Book Art" by Richard Kostelanetz
"The Artist's Book Goes Public" by Lucy R. Lippard
The Pillow Book video directed by Peter Greenaway
Selections from YO! by Julia Alvarez (character development and perspective)
Selections from Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (sources and perspective)
Selections from Vatel by Roland Joffé
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